Obviously I don't plan on dying any time soon, but I'm happy enough with the knowledge that Shenmue III exists at all, even if that means never ending up being able to play it through dying. The dream was for Shenmue III to become a reality, and that dream has come true, so I'm satisfied.

My feeling is that I hope to live long enough to see my kids become happy old people who have of course, played the WHOLE Shenmue saga during their life. Is that a good answer for OP and could we please move on to more vital aspects of life?

Btw... third option in your poll list for me

Those, who follow the path of a warrior, must be ready to die, in order to stand for one's convictions, live for one's convictions, die for one's convictions. That is how I lived my life.

Hyo Razuki wrote:I think some die hard 'Muers have already died since the release of S2. Including the man, who recorded this here video. One of the best Shenmue piano videos. Makes me sad to think about him not having lived to see S3.

We should all be grateful to be alive and maybe when we play Shenmue 3 I hope that sometimes we will keep in mind that there are some fellow 'Muers who didn't live to see that lifetime dream come true.

The sad thing is, he never actually got to play Shenmue.

He hasn't? How come he knew about Shenmue's music then? Did someone give him a soundtrack CD or did he listen to it on Youtube or how did he learn of it?

I like the fact that Shenmue tells a beautiful story on both plans : virtual and real. I don't think any game in history has ever reached the emotional dimension we have all experienced since a couple of months. F***in Shenmue

Yokosuka wrote: I like the fact that Shenmue tells a beautiful story on both plans : virtual and real. I don't think any game in history has ever reached the emotional dimension we have all experienced since a couple of months. F***in Shenmue

Fuckin' Shenmue indeed

I completely agree (at least in my experience with games over the past twenty-plus years) that no other game has come close to reaching the emotional depths of Shenmue, and it functions in such an organic, ubiquitous way that it's truly unique from anything else out there, and I will applaud any game that is able to equal or even surpass it.

Shenmue isn't remotely emotional in the same way as Lee or The Boss dying in The Walking Dead: Season One or Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (both of which caused me to bawl like a baby), respectively, nor does it ever intend to. It has its emotional moments, sure, but I sincerely doubt anyone got choked up by Iwao dying at the beginning, though I can fully appreciate people holding back the tears during Nozomi's final cutscene at the altar. (If, however, Iwao hadn't been killed at the beginning of the game, but, rather, much later on - living the day-to-day life with your father at your side, always there to help and support you, and forming a tight bond not only as a character but a player, too - I'm sure it would have been a tear-jerker, but that's another story.) It's emotional at a much more basic, real level.

Shenmue's emotional landscape just... is. It's there; it has always been there, and it's truly otherworldly how it exists in the way that it does. Is it deliberate? Yes. Is it heavily manufactured, obvious, and crammed down your throat? Absolutely not. It's like a big, warm embrace. It's a piece of art. Putting it into words is extremely difficult.

If you tried explaining how much Shenmue means to you to someone who only plays Call of Duty multiplayer and Madden, they'd call you a "faggot" or something, but if you explain those exact same feelings to someone else who loves Shenmue, they know exactly what you're talking about.